185 recoil vs 230

This is a discussion on 185 recoil vs 230 within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; In a .45 ACP will the 185 grain have less felt recoil than the 230's? I am assuming it has less, but not sure.
The ...

185 recoil vs 230

In a .45 ACP will the 185 grain have less felt recoil than the 230's? I am assuming it has less, but not sure.
The reason I ask is because we are carrying 185 grain for SD and practicing with the 230's.

E=mc˛
Theoretically the lighter bullet travels faster and the heavier bullet travels slower. Those are the mass (weight 'm') and velocity (c) values for the equation. I'm still thinking the 230gr would have more perceived recoil. I'll have to test that theory with standard loads.

It depends. The charge will most likely not be the same for different bullet weights. Typically, I've found a heavier bullet to have more felt recoil, but also, about the only times I use heavier bullets is for personal defense ammo, which is usually loaded hotter.

What brands are you using? If your 185 grain are +P and the 230 are standard, then the 185 grain will probably have more felt recoil.

I've found powder charge has a lot more to do with recoil than bullet weight.

In a .45 ACP will the 185 grain have less felt recoil than the 230's? I am assuming it has less, but not sure.

You're opening a can of works on that question. Which one recoils more or less isn't so much an issue as how well you take to the type of recoil the round provides. You go from a snap to a thud; some people like snap, some like a thud. I don't really look at it as more, just different.

The 230's I practice with are cowboy action bullets reloaded with 5.0 grains of win231 powder
My wife carry's 230 grain Speers Gold Dots and I mistakenly got a box of 185 +P Gold Sabers. Thinking about it they probably are close to the same, the lighter bullet is +P and the heavier is standard.

"fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen." [Warren v. District of Columbia,(D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981)]
If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand

In similarly hot loadings, I think the mild difference between the two is this: the .45ACP 185gr has a somewhat sharper, faster kick with increased muzzle rise, whereas a 230gr has a less-sharp, though harder, kick, more of a push back into the hands. In a mild to moderate loading, I don't see much difference.

After the gun is fired, the gun will recoil backward with an equal but opposite momentum of that of the bullet. The recoil velocity of the gun will be equal to the bullet momentum divided by the mass of the gun. (Or if you like, take the muzzle velocity of the bullet and multiply it by the ratio of the bullet mass divided by the gun mass).

Since the gun has so much more mass than the bullet, its recoil speed is much much less than bullet.

With 185 grain bullet, the muzzle velocity is higher than that of a 230 grain bullet. However, its mass is quite a bit less than 230. Even though its velocity has increased, its momentum actually decreases due to the much larger decrease in bullet mass.

As an example consider Hornady .45 ACP ammo;

185 g
970 ft/s

total momentum = (185g) times (970 ft/s) = 179,450 g ft/s

230 g
850 ft/s

total momentum = (230g) times (850 ft/s) = 195,500 g ft/s

Thus, the 185 grain bullet has "less momentum" than a 230 grain bullet. This is why it is referred to as a "lower recoil" load.

However, for a +P 200g bullet the muzzle velocity is 1055 ft/s. This results in a momentum of 211,000 g ft/s.
This round will have a larger recoil than a regular .45 230 grain "non +P" round.